Rail plate and fastener.



No.763,1r53. y PATENTED JUNE 211904.

' 4W. V. BUTTERPIBLD.

.RAIL PLATE AND PASTENBR- APPLIOATION FILED MAR 10 1904 No MODEL.

llNiTiD STATES Patented June 21, 1904.

PATENTl @Fries RAlL PLATE AND FASTENER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 763,153, dated J une21, 1904.

Application filed March 10, 1904. Serial No. 197,470. (No model.)

To all whom, t m//Lg/ concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER V. BUTTER- FIELD, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Silsbee, in the county of Hardin and State of Texas,have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Rail Plates andFasteners, of which the following is a specification.

It is the common and general practice in securing the rails of a railwayto the ties to spike the rails in place, the spikes being driven intothe body of the tie with their heads ovei-,

lapping the flange at the base of the rail on each side or otherwise. Itis well known that while this method of fastening the rails to the tiesis efficient at first it becomes objectionable in use, owing to theloosening of the spikes, allowing the rail to vibrate and slip more orless and finally destroying the tie or rendering it unfit for use. Owingto the scarcity of proper tie-timber, various plans have been tried tohold the rails firmly in position, and thereby give a longer life to theties and prevent destruction, but without any marked degree of success.

The primary object of the present invention is to furnish a plate and.fastener by means of which the rails can be iirmly secured in place, andthis without the use of spikes or other fastening means driven into thebody of the tie; and further objects are to construct a plate which canbe readily and quickly attached to the flange at the base of the railand which can be fixed] y lockedto the face of the tie without the useof spikes or Vother means driven into the body of the tie, to constructa plate having tongues to take over the anges at the base of the railand having corner-slots for the reception of the ends of tie-straps, bymeans of which and interlocking keys or other securing means the platecan be firmly and tixedly clamped to the face of the tie, holding therail firmly in place, to furnish a plate having its corners upturned andprovided with slots-and tie-straps entered into the cornerslots of theplate and held in place on the under side of the tie, and to improvegenerally the 'construction and operation of the several elements whichenter into the formation of the plate and its attachment to the tie.

The invention consists in the features of construction and combinationof parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings illustrating the invention, Figure l is atop or planview showing the rail broken off and the end of the tie, with the plateand its locking means, in position; Fig. 2, a cross-section of the partsshown in Fig. l; Fig. 3, a side elevation of the parts shown in Fig. l;Fig. 4, a plan view of the plate; Fig. 5, an edge View of the plate;Fig. 6, a side View of a locking key or wedge, and Fig. 7 a side View ofa supplemental piece on the underside of the tie for engaging with thetie-straps. f

The rail A is of the ordinary construction of T-rails, having a head al,a neck a', and a base-flange a2, and can be of the shape shown or ofother suitable formation. The plate B, which receives the base-flange a2of the rail and is supported on the upper face of the tie, is made ofany suitable metal and of the form shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5,having its corners L slightly upturned, so as to rise above the face ofthe tie. Thebody of the plate in the arrangement shown has strips cutout therefrom, so as to leave a-slot b', and the strip is turnedinwardly, so as to form a clip b2, which takes over the base-flange ofthe rail, as shown in Fig. 3, and, as shown, the plateB has three slotsand three clips 62, the clips furnishing a secure interlock of theplate, and the two outer slots are utilized for the passage of the endsof the yoke or tie straps by which the plate is held firmly in place onthe upper face of the tie.

The force exerted on the rails from the passage of a train is an outwardone, and for this reason the tie or brace of the plate B should be thestrongest on the inside. The tie and brace for the plate on the insidein the construction shown is in the form of a yoke or open-ended stirrupC, made of suitable metal and having a base end c and side arms orstraps c', each strap at its free or outer end having therein a slot c.The outer end of each side arm or strap c projects through the outerslots 7) of the plate B on the inside of the rail when the securing yokeor stirrup is in place, with the slot c2 projected above the IOO turnedcorner of the plate B, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. The tie or bracefor the plate on the outside of the rail is in the forni of a yoke oropen-ended stirrup D, made of suitable Inetal and having an end bar (Zand side arms or straps (W, each side arm or strap at its free orouterend having a slot (Z2. The outer end of cach side or strap d projectsthrough the outer slots of the plate B, as shown in Fig. 3. The enteredends of the yokes orV stirrups and D are securely held after beingpassed through the corner-slots of the plate B in any firm manner. Asshown, the ends of the yokes or stirrups C and D are held in place bykeys E, one for the slot of each arm or strap of the yoke, the body ofthe key passing' through the slot and its edge faces engaging with theedge of the arm or strap adjacent to the slot and with the face of theplate, as shown in Fig. 2. rlhe key shown has a straight-edge face a toengage with the face of the plate and an inclined face e, provided withnotches e, to engage with the edge of the arm or strap at the end of theslot and hold the key against easy withdrawal in use, and in ease thekey becomes loosened, so that the yokes or stirrups do not perform theoiiice of holding the plate fixedly and firmly in place, by a slightblow the key or keys can be driven inwardly, again engaging' thc yokesor stirrups with the plate, so as to hold the plates fiXedly and lirml yin place and retain the rail in position.

In use the plates B are secured to the rail by interlocking or engagingthe tongues or clips b2 with the Hange, and the rail, with the platethereon, is set in position on the tie F, which tie can be of wood andof the usual form of ties, after which the yokes or stirrups are slippedin place from the under side of the tie for their free or upper ends topass through the slots L', and when entered the keys E or otherfastening means are driven or otherwise engaged with the plate and theends of the side arms or straps, so as to draw the plate firmly againstthe face of the tie, holding the plate in a fixed position and securingthe rail in place, and this without the use of spikes or other fasteningmeans driven into the body of the tie. The cross-bars of the yokes orstirrups C and D can be arranged to engage with notches or walls formedin the under face of the tie F; but it is preferred to use asupplemental wooden strip f, placed on the under side of the tie andhaving at one end an inclined face f to engage with the cross-bar c ofthe yoke or stirrup C and having' a shoulder or face f2 to engage withthe cross-bar l of the yoke or stirrup D, the engagement being such asto prevent lengthwise movement of the yokes or stirrups in use after theyokes or stirrups are connected with the plate at their free or upperends and to furnish an abutment against which the the same time the bodyof the tie is not weakened by spikes or other securing means driventhereinto, nor can the plate have lateral movement on the face of thecross-tie, as it is held against such movement by the drawtie andbrace-straps, and these straps will not be pushed out of place by thepassage of trains over the trackway, as is the case where the rails areheld by spikes or other securing means driven into the body of the tie.The supplemental piece of wood `f furnishes an additional supportdirectly under the rail and adds that much thickness to the depth of thetie to resist the downthruston the rail, and in the event of too muchwear that would loosen the yokes or stirrups it is only necessary toreplace the supplemental piece of wood with a new piece, making the tieas good as new. The yokes or stirrups, if they fail to perform theoiiiee of drawing and holding the plate in its fixed position, can betightened so as to act properly by simply driving the locking keys orwedges farther in or otherwise manipulating the uniting means betweenthe ends of the yokes or stirrups and the plates to have the yokes orstirrups draw and brace the plates. The attachment as a whole is simplein construction, and by its use the life of a cross-tie will belengthencd and repairs, in case the rails become loose, can be easilymade, it only being necessary to tighten up the draw-straps, so as tocause the plate to closely hug the face of the cross-tie, or in case ofa looseness too great to be overcome by tightening the yokes or stirrupsor the draw-straps a new supplemental piece can be employed to take theplace of the old supplemental piece with sufiicient increased thicknessto give the required draw and brace for the straps of the yokes orstirrups. It will also be seen that no appreciable wear can take placebetween the face of the plate and the bottom of the rail, as the plateis locked to the rail closely, and that no appreciable wear can takeplace between the face of the plate and the face of the cross-tie whenthe draw-straps are properly set to draw and brace the plate in itsrelation to the rail, thus preventing slipping of the rail and slippingof the plate that would cause wear on the face of the cross-tie anddestroy or impair its utility.

WV hat I regard as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

IOO

XIO

l. A rail plate and fastener, comprising a plate, adapted to beinterloeked with the rail, and tie and brace straps, engaging with theplate and adapted to be held by the cross-tie, substantially asdescribed.

2. A rail plate and fastener, comprising a plate having clipsinterlocked with the rail and slots for the passage of the ends of tieand brace straps, and tie and brace straps entered at their ends intothe slots of the plate and when entered locked to the plate,substantially as described.

3. A rail plate and fastener', comprising a plate having its cornersupturned and having' clips to interlock with the rail and slots for thepassage'of the ends of tie and brace straps, and tie and brace strapsentered at their ends into the slots of the plate and when enteredlocked to the plate, substantially as described.

4. The combination of a rail, a plate interlocked with the rail, tie andbrace straps engaging with the plate, and a cross-tie on which the plateis located and having the tie and brace straps connected therewith,substantially as described.

5. The combination of a rail, a plate interlocked with the rail by clipsand having slots for the passage of the ends of tie and brace straps,tie and brace straps entered at their ends into the slots of the plateand when entered locked to the plate, and a cross-tie having the tie andbrace straps connected therewith on the under side, substantially asdescribed.

6. The combination of a rail, a plate interloeked with the rail by clipsand having slots at each corner, a yoke having a cross-bar and side armsand constituting tie and brace straps, with the ends of the arms enteredinto the slots of the plate and when entered locked to the plate, and across-tie underneath which the yoke passes and engages, substantially asdescribed.

7. The combination of a rail, a plate interlocking with the rail byclips and having slots at each corner, a yoke having, a cross-bar andside arms and constituting tie and brace straps, with the ends of thearms entered into the slots of the plate, slots in the end of each sidearm, a key entered into the slot of each side arm and engaging theplate, and a cross-tie underneath which the yoke passes and engages,substantially as described.

8. The combination of a rail, a plate interlocked with the rail by clipsand havingrits corners upturned with a slot in each corner,

a yoke having a cross-bar and side arms and constituting tie and bracestraps, with the ends of the arms entered into the slots of the plate,slots in the end of each side arm, a key-entered into the slot ofeachside arm and engaging the plate, and a cross-tie underneath whichthe yoke passes and engages, substantially as described.

9. The combination of a rail, a plate interlocked with the rail andhaving at each corner a slot, yokes each having an end bar and side armsand constituting tie and brace straps, with the yoke for the inner sideof the rail running diagonally and the yoke for the outer side of therail standing vertically, and with the ends of the side arms of bothyokes passing through the corner-slots of the plate and when enteredlocked to the plate, and a crosstie on which the plate is located andwith the under side of which the yokes connect, substantially asdescribed.

l0. The combination of a rail, a plate interlocked with the rail andhaving at each corner a slot, yokes each having an end bar and side armsand constituting tie and brace straps, with the yoke for the inner sideof the rail running diagonally and the yoke for the outer side of therail standing vertically, and with the ends of the side arms of bothyokes passing through the corner-slots of the plate and when enteredlocked to the plate, a cross-tie on which the plate is located, and asupplemental piece, having at one end an inclined face and at theopposite end a horizontal face and located on the under side of thecross-tie and having the yokes engaged with the inclined and horizontalfaces, substantially as described.

WALTER V. BUTTERFIELD.

Vitnesses:

OSCAR W. BOND, WALKER BANNING.

